publications

2025

1. SmartAgric.Technol.

   Makara: A tool for cotton farmers to evaluate risk to income

   M. A. Ponce-Pacheco, S. Adla, R. Guntha, and 6 more authors

   Smart Agricultural Technology, 2025

   Abs

   Smallholder farmers are critical to global food production and natural resource management. Due to increased competition for water resources and variability in rainfall due to climate change, chronic irrigation water scarcity is rising particularly in drought-prone regions. Improving the awareness of climatic risk to yields and incomes is critical to sustainable agricultural intensification. However, adopting a new technology represents a certain level of risk for the farmers, who invest time and economic resources in changing their practices. We have developed a mobile application, currently for cotton, that would allow farmers to actualize the risk of growing cotton. By implementing a sociohydrological dynamic model with a kernel principal component analysis structural error model, the software provides a risk forecast of the yield and profit the user can expect at the end of the season. The mobile app not only processes social and agricultural information provided by the user but also retrieves and continually updates climate datasets from the web, as well as market prices. The users can request the execution of the sociohydrological model to the servers from their own mobile devices. By following an agile methodology, the mobile app has been tested with ∼100 farmers in order to get feedback from real users; this brought the opportunity to redesign the functionality based on the correct understanding of information and, a fast and clear management of the tool and helping in the adoption of the technology. This was combined with existing knowledge around communicating risk by using multiple modes of communication - text, graphics, sound and video - all of which were implemented to reinforce the knowledge communicated and ensure sufficient redundancy. This turned out to be beneficial for farmers with low prior knowledge and higher acceptability of the mobile app by the users as evidenced through feedback rounds with them. This study exemplifies an approach to address the gap in communicating risks in agriculture using a user-friendly mobile application.

2. J.Environ.Manag.

   Participatory development of mobile agricultural advisory driven by behavioural determinants of adoption

   S. Adla, A. Aravindakshan, A. Tyagi, and 5 more authors

   Journal of Environmental Management, 2025

   Abs

   Mobile applications have the potential to revolutionise agricultural advisories, providing farmers with real-time information and insights for improved decision-making. However, the adoption of such apps is influenced by various behavioural factors, necessitating a participatory approach of development with the stakeholders. This study proposes a framework that begins with a prototype app informed by a literature review and the identification of behavioral determinants of app adoption. Iterative participatory feedback, grounded in these determinants, is employed to refine the app. The framework is demonstrated through the case study of Makara, an app providing risk advisories for farm yield, income, and risk mitigating practices in Maharashtra, India. A user-focused Theory of Change (ToC) was used to design a survey to identify socio-economic and behavioral drivers of agricultural app adoption. Data collected from 1354 farmers across four districts of Maharashtra during April–May 2023 informed a linear regression model that identified significant explanatory factors. Building on these findings, multiple feedback sessions with farmers were conducted over a year to iteratively co-develop the app’s features. Key behavioral determinants, including norms, trust, abilities, and attitudes towards adopting mobile-based agricultural advisories, significantly influenced adoption. The participatory design process addressed these factors, incorporating features such as multi-lingual support, intercropping and multi-cropping options, and multi-component budgeting to enhance trust and perceived ease in using the app. User-friendliness was further improved through redundant communication of risks, combining textual and audio-visual formats. This paper presents a mixed-methods approach to integrating behavioral drivers of agricultural (advisory app) technology adoption into a participatory co-design framework (of such an app), enabling considerations for inclusivity and scaling in the design process of the app itself.

3. ICT Analysis+Apps

   Makara App: A Case Study in Digital Innovation for Enhanced Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability

   Ramesh Guntha, A. Aiswarya, Soham Adla, and 3 more authors

   In ICT Analysis and Applications, 2025

   Abs

   The agricultural sector, particularly in rural areas, faces numerous challenges, including labor shortages, fluctuating costs, and unpredictable weather patterns. The Makara app emerges as a pioneering digital solution, specifically designed to address the multifaceted needs of small-scale farmers. This chapter presents a case study on the Makara app, highlighting its role in transforming agricultural practices through digital innovation. The app provides a comprehensive platform for farmers to manage their land, crops, and financials effectively. It offers detailed land and crop management, budgeting, and activity management. Additionally, Makara’s day-to-day advisory service and risk prediction module assist farmers in optimizing resource use and enhancing productivity. The app’s multilingual interface and offline mode ensure accessibility and usability in remote areas. This study analyzes the software development, farmer engagement, feedback collection, software refinement, and deployment process of the Makara app among the select farmers of the Nagpur region in Maharashtra, India. The Makara app exemplifies the potential of digital tools in promoting sustainable and profitable farming practices in rural communities.

2025

1. EGU

   Enhancing smallholder sociohydrological predictions at plot scale by novel data assimilation of high-resolution soil moisture and biomass data

   M.A. Ponce-Pacheco, L. Cahill, A. Tyagi, and 3 more authors

   In EGU General Assembly 2025, 2025

2024

1. EGU

   Developing a mobile app for adopting efficient irrigation technologies for cotton production in India

   M.A. Ponce Pacheco, S. Adla, R. Guntha, and 6 more authors

   In EGU General Assembly 2024, 2024

2023

1. EGU

   Understanding behavioral and socio-economic determinants of farmer adoption of efficient irrigation technologies

   S. Adla, A. Šaponjić, A. Tyagi, and 7 more authors

   In EGU General Assembly 2023, 2023
2. IUGG

   Developing a mobile app for adopting efficient irrigation technologies

   M. A. Ponce Pacheco, S. Adla, R. Guntha, and 6 more authors

   In XXVIII General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), 2023